Mario began as an unnamed carpenter called "Jumpman" in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong. Four years later, Super Mario Bros. gave him a brother, a princess to rescue and a turtle king to defeat, and the formula has stuck ever since. Shigeru Miyamoto's series became the best-selling video game franchise of all time, spanning platformers, kart racers, RPGs, sports games and party games.
Because the same characters appear in dozens of genres, the cast is large but easy to sort. There are the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom; Bowser and the Koopa Troop; the rivals Wario and Waluigi; and a long list of recurring enemies that are characters in their own right. This guide covers each group, then lists the voice cast for the games and the films.
- Created by
- Shigeru Miyamoto
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- First appearance
- Donkey Kong, 1981
- Breakout game
- Super Mario Bros., 1985
- Films
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)
Heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom
The good guys are defined less by backstory than by how they move and what they're good at. That's partly why they translate so well from platformers to karts, tennis and parties.
Mario
Plumber · Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom
A cheerful plumber in a red cap and blue overalls who saves the Mushroom Kingdom by running, jumping and stomping. Mario barely speaks and has almost no backstory, and that's the point. He's pure, optimistic action, built to feel good under your thumb. He was named after Mario Segale, the landlord of Nintendo of America's first warehouse. Today he's one of the most recognisable fictional characters in the world.
Luigi
Mario's brother · Reluctant hero
Taller, greener and much more nervous than his brother, Luigi started out as a palette swap in Mario Bros. (1983) and slowly became a character. Luigi's Mansion made him the star: a man who's terrified of ghosts and goes in anyway, armed with a vacuum cleaner. His appeal is that he's scared and overlooked and shows up regardless. Nintendo leaned into it with 2013's "Year of Luigi".
Princess Peach
Ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom
The kingdom's princess, known as Princess Toadstool in early English releases. For decades her main job in the platformers was being kidnapped. Elsewhere she's always been more capable: playable in Super Mario Bros. 2 with a floating jump, the hero of Super Princess Peach and Princess Peach: Showtime!, and the one who trains Mario for battle in the 2023 film. Mario Odyssey even ends with her turning down both Mario's and Bowser's proposals.
Princess Daisy
Princess of Sarasaland
Daisy debuted as the princess Mario rescues in the Game Boy's Super Mario Land (1989). She's lived mostly in the spin-offs ever since, where she's loud, sporty and competitive, the boisterous counterpart to Peach's poise. She's usually paired with Luigi.
Toad
Peach's attendant
A small mushroom-headed retainer, and the name of the whole species that makes up the kingdom's population. In Super Mario Bros. a Toad tells you the princess is in another castle. Since then Toad has been playable, fast and cheerful, and a Toad explorer even got his own puzzle game, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.
Toadette
Toad explorer · Spin-off regular
A pink-capped Toad with pigtails who debuted in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (2003). She's become a regular in the kart and party games and Captain Toad's partner in Treasure Tracker.
Yoshi
Dinosaur companion
A green dinosaur with a long tongue who swallows enemies and turns them into eggs. Yoshi joined in Super Mario World (1990), and he's carried his own series since Yoshi's Island, where he ferries baby Mario across the island. Yoshis come in many colours, and their loyalty is the subject of a long-running joke: players leap off his back to save themselves.
Rosalina
Guardian of the cosmos
A tall, serene woman who watches over the universe from the Comet Observatory with the star-shaped Lumas she adopted. Super Mario Galaxy (2007) tells her story through a storybook you unlock chapter by chapter. It follows a lonely girl who sets out into space, and it's the most openly sad thing in the series. She has since become a spin-off and Smash Bros. regular.
Donkey Kong
Former rival · Jungle hero
The original Donkey Kong kidnapped Pauline in the 1981 arcade game. The tie-wearing modern DK, who loves bananas, stars in his own Donkey Kong Country series, races in Mario Kart, and has his own 3D adventure in Donkey Kong Bananza (2025).
Pauline
Mayor of New Donk City
The woman Jumpman climbed to rescue in Donkey Kong. Super Mario Odyssey brought her back as the jazz-singing mayor of New Donk City, and her song "Jump Up, Super Star!" became one of the series' best-loved tracks.
Professor E. Gadd
Inventor · Ghost expert
A tiny, eccentric scientist who builds Luigi's ghost-catching Poltergust vacuum in the Luigi's Mansion games. His inventions also turn up elsewhere, including the water pack F.L.U.D.D. in Super Mario Sunshine.
Cappy
Super Mario Odyssey partner
A ghostly hat spirit from the Cap Kingdom whose sister Tiara is taken by Bowser. Cappy becomes Mario's cap and lets him "capture" enemies and objects, from Goombas to a T-Rex. It's one of the series' cleverest mechanics.
Birdo
Egg-spitting spin-off regular
Originally a boss in Super Mario Bros. 2, spitting eggs from a snout-like mouth. Birdo is now a friendly face in kart, sports and party games, usually paired with Yoshi.
Toadsworth
Peach's elderly steward
A fussy old Toad with a moustache who looks after Peach, introduced in Super Mario Sunshine. He's at his most flustered whenever she vanishes, which is often.
Bowser and the Koopa Troop
Bowser's side of the cast has grown from one boss into a whole household, complete with a son, a magician and seven lieutenants.
Bowser
King of the Koopas
A huge, fire-breathing turtle king with a spiked shell. He has kidnapped Peach or invaded the kingdom in almost every mainline game since 1985. Over the years he's become more than a final boss. He's a doting dad, an occasional reluctant ally in the RPGs, and a hopeless romantic. Jack Black's lovesick, piano-playing Bowser in the 2023 film, including his song "Peaches", made that side of him famous outside the games too.
Bowser Jr.
Bowser's son and heir
Bowser Jr. debuted in Super Mario Sunshine, where he frames Mario using a magic paintbrush and claims Peach is his mother. He wears a bandana painted with a giant fanged mouth and rides a Koopa Clown Car. He's bratty but completely devoted to his father, and that devotion makes him oddly likeable.
Kamek
Magikoopa · Bowser's caretaker
A bespectacled Magikoopa who raised Bowser from childhood and still acts as his adviser and spellcaster. He's the main villain of Yoshi's Island, where he tries to grab baby Mario, and he loves to enlarge bosses with a wave of his wand.
The Koopalings
Larry, Morton, Wendy, Iggy, Roy, Lemmy and Ludwig
Seven punk-styled Koopa lieutenants who debuted as castle bosses in Super Mario Bros. 3, each holding a king's wand. They were first presented as Bowser's children, and Nintendo later said they're not. Each has a distinct look: Ludwig's wild blue hair, Wendy's pink bow, Roy's sunglasses, Lemmy's circus ball.
King Boo
Ruler of the Boos
A crowned Boo and the main villain of the Luigi's Mansion games, where he traps Mario inside a painting. He's a regular rival in the kart and party games, and Luigi's personal nemesis.
Wario and Waluigi
Wario
Mario's greedy, garlic-loving rival, introduced as the villain of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992), where he'd taken over Mario's castle. He soon got his own series. The Wario Land games turned him into a treasure-hunting anti-hero, and WarioWare made him the boss of a company making absurd five-second microgames. He's crude and selfish, and the games enjoy him enormously.
Waluigi
Wario's lanky partner in crime, created for Mario Tennis (2000) as a rival for Luigi. He's never starred in his own game, and that has made him a symbol of the overlooked: fans campaign for him, celebrate his scheming poses and enjoy his tantrums. He appears in nearly every kart, sports and party game.
Classic enemies
Mario's enemies are designed to be understood in a second: what they do, how to beat them. Many have become characters with personalities of their own, especially in the RPGs.
Goomba
The first enemy
A brown, angry-eyebrowed mushroom that walks into you. It's the first enemy in Super Mario Bros. and the one that teaches you to jump on things. Goombario and Goombella are friendly Goombas who join Mario in the Paper Mario games.
Koopa Troopa
Bowser's foot soldier
A turtle that retreats into its shell when stomped, and the shell becomes a weapon. Red Koopas turn back at ledges, green ones walk off them. Winged Paratroopas bounce or fly.
Boo
Shy ghost
A round white ghost that covers its face when you look at it and creeps closer when you turn away. It debuted in Super Mario Bros. 3 and has become one of the series' most recognisable designs.
Shy Guy
Masked minion
A small creature in a robe and a white mask, never seen without it. It started in Super Mario Bros. 2 and now turns up everywhere, including as a kart racer.
Lakitu
Cloud rider
A goggled Koopa on a cloud who throws spiked Spinies at you from above. In Mario Kart, a friendly Lakitu runs the starting lights and fishes you out of the water.
Piranha Plant
Pipe dweller
A snapping plant that rises out of pipes at the worst moment. It's been a hazard since 1985 and, to many people's surprise, a playable Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter.
Bob-omb
Walking bomb
A wind-up bomb with feet that walks around until it explodes. Super Mario 64's Bob-omb Battlefield, the very first course, showed that some Bob-ombs are friendly.
Chain Chomp
Chained biter
A black ball of teeth chained to a post that lunges like a guard dog. Shigeru Miyamoto has said it was inspired by a childhood run-in with a dog.
Hammer Bro and Dry Bones
Koopa elites
Hammer Bros. throw arcs of hammers and are a menace in the later stages of the original game. Dry Bones are skeletal Koopas who fall apart when stomped and then rebuild themselves.
Thwomp and Blooper
Castle and sea hazards
A Thwomp is a scowling stone block that slams down when you pass beneath it. A Blooper is a white squid that pulses towards you underwater, and in Mario Kart it squirts ink across your screen.
Voice cast: games and films
For most of the series' history, characters spoke in short exclamations rather than lines. That made the actors behind the "Wahoo!"s and "Mamma mia!"s unusually important.
| Character | Games | Films |
|---|---|---|
| Mario | Charles Martinet (to 2023); Kevin Afghani (2023–) | Chris Pratt |
| Luigi | Charles Martinet (to 2023); Kevin Afghani (2023–) | Charlie Day |
| Princess Peach | Samantha Kelly | Anya Taylor-Joy |
| Bowser | Kenneth W. James | Jack Black |
| Toad | Samantha Kelly | Keegan-Michael Key |
| Yoshi | Kazumi Totaka | — |
| Donkey Kong | — | Seth Rogen |
| Kamek | — | Kevin Michael Richardson |
The 2023 film also cast Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong and Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike, Mario's bullying old boss. Charles Martinet has cameo roles. A sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, followed in April 2026 and brought Rosalina and Bowser Jr. into the film series. Our voice actor guide covers more performers who've lived inside a single character for decades.
When each character debuted
- 1981 Donkey Kong introduces Jumpman (later Mario), Donkey Kong and Pauline.
- 1983 Mario Bros. adds Luigi.
- 1985 Super Mario Bros. brings in Peach, Toad, Bowser, Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Lakitu and Piranha Plants.
- 1988 Super Mario Bros. 2 (in the West) adds Shy Guy, Birdo and Bob-omb; Super Mario Bros. 3 introduces the Koopalings, Boos and Chain Chomps.
- 1989 Super Mario Land introduces Princess Daisy.
- 1990 Super Mario World introduces Yoshi.
- 1992 Super Mario Land 2 introduces Wario.
- 2000 Mario Tennis introduces Waluigi.
- 2001 Luigi's Mansion introduces Professor E. Gadd and King Boo.
- 2002 Super Mario Sunshine introduces Bowser Jr. and Toadsworth.
- 2007 Super Mario Galaxy introduces Rosalina and the Lumas.
- 2017 Super Mario Odyssey introduces Cappy.
Where to start
For the classic cast at its best, try Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023), a 2D adventure starring the full gang. For 3D, Super Mario Odyssey is the most welcoming, and Super Mario Galaxy is the one for Rosalina's story. Luigi's Mansion 3 is the best showcase for Luigi, and Mario Kart World is where nearly everyone in this guide shows up at once.
Mario's design, with a cap so the hair didn't need animating and a moustache so the face didn't need a mouth, is one of the textbook cases in character design 101. His feud with Bowser sits on our list of iconic rivalries. Nintendo's other long-runners, The Legend of Zelda and Pokémon, show different ways of keeping a cast alive across decades of sequels and spin-offs.
All Super Mario character names A–Z
B
- Birdo — Ally
- Blooper — Enemy
- Bob-omb — Enemy
- Boo — Enemy
- Bowser — Villain
- Bowser Jr. — Villain
C–D
- Cappy — Ally
- Chain Chomp — Enemy
- Daisy — Princess of Sarasaland
- Donkey Kong — Ally
- Dry Bones — Enemy
E–I
- E. Gadd — Inventor
- Goomba — Enemy
- Hammer Bro — Enemy
- Iggy Koopa — Koopaling
K
- Kamek — Villain
- King Boo — Villain
- Koopa Troopa — Enemy
L
- Lakitu — Enemy
- Larry Koopa — Koopaling
- Lemmy Koopa — Koopaling
- Ludwig von Koopa — Koopaling
- Luigi — Hero
- Lumas — Rosalina's stars
M
- Mario — Hero
- Morton Koopa Jr. — Koopaling
P–R
- Pauline — Mayor of New Donk City
- Peach — Princess
- Piranha Plant — Enemy
- Rosalina — Cosmic guardian
- Roy Koopa — Koopaling
S–T
- Shy Guy — Enemy
- Thwomp — Enemy
- Toad — Ally
- Toadette — Ally
- Toadsworth — Ally
W–Y
- Waluigi — Rival
- Wario — Rival
- Wendy O. Koopa — Koopaling
- Yoshi — Ally
Frequently asked questions
Who are the main Super Mario characters?
The core cast is Mario, his brother Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, Yoshi and the villain Bowser. Close behind are Princess Daisy, Rosalina, Donkey Kong, Bowser Jr., and the rivals Wario and Waluigi, who mostly appear in the spin-offs.
Who voices Mario now?
Kevin Afghani has voiced Mario and Luigi in the games since Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023). Charles Martinet voiced them from the 1990s until then and is now a Mario ambassador for Nintendo. In the films, Mario is voiced by Chris Pratt.
Are Mario and Luigi twins?
Nintendo has described them as twins in the past, and Yoshi's Island shows them delivered as babies together by the stork. Luigi is usually treated as the younger of the two. The 2023 film simply presents them as brothers.
Who is the main villain in Super Mario?
Bowser, King of the Koopas. He has kidnapped Peach or attacked the Mushroom Kingdom in almost every mainline game since Super Mario Bros. in 1985. His son Bowser Jr., his magician Kamek and the seven Koopalings usually do the work on the levels in between.
Are the Koopalings Bowser's kids?
They were introduced as Bowser's children in Super Mario Bros. 3. Later, Nintendo said they aren't, and they're now usually presented as his loyal minions. Bowser Jr. is the only child Nintendo treats as definitely his.
Where did Waluigi come from?
Waluigi debuted in Mario Tennis (2000) as Luigi's counterpart to Wario, mainly so doubles matches would have a matching rival pair. He has never starred in a main platformer, which has made him a long-running internet favourite and a cult underdog.